Museums Partner with Blue Patch
Supporting Sustainable Small Business
Blue Patch connects museums and High St shops with our sustainable creative makers, lighting up the local economy and bringing green, local brands to more people.
Positive Shopping Campaign
We call Blue Patch’s campaign Positive Shopping, which comes with its own mini guide which we distribute to cafes, shops, homes and at our events.
Our online trade portal
Blue Patch’s retail partnerships are growing. To facilitate connection between member and trade we provide a trade portal on every microsite. Trade portals contain information specifically for trade partners. This content is invisible to regular customers and non-trade members. Trade professionals apply to Blue Patch to become an Approved Trade member. PLUS we don’t charge any commission as a non-profit.
Blue Patch is here to support everyone. Moreover customers can enjoy beautiful products produced with the planet in mind!
Happy Planet Store, Manchester
One example of Positive Shopping in action was the Happy Planet Store which featured 36 sustainable brands. The pop-up opened at Manchester Art Gallery in January 2022 and ran for three months. The Happy Planet Store looked great, it was a real pleasure to exhibit in such magnificent surroundings!
“Manchester Art Gallery is very happy to be hosting Blue Patch at the gallery, as part of our drive to support a more sustainable and ethical economy and switch to an ecologically sound way of life. The gallery has always had a role as a kind of ‘regulator valve’ as Manchester has grown from a town to a super city, championing the role of both ethics and aesthetics in the development of a healthy society. Manchester has set a zero carbon target for 2038 and this project underlines our commitment to achieving this goal, and at the same time supports the growth of community owned green energy across the land.” Alistair Hudson, Director
Manchester to London
Back in south London we curated Blue Patch’s Sustainable Arts & Crafts Showcase. Set in the glorious Dulwich Picture Gallery, members created a beautiful exhibition and had time to talk to each other too – growing the collaborative members’ network. Heading back up country members found themselves at Brantwood, the home of John Ruskin. Pull My Thread – textiles for a cool planet an exhibition plus museum shop collaboration that was enjoyed by four thousand visitors.
With the advent of the Blue Patch charity, we are also looking toward High St shop partnerships, armed with substantial experience, we want to support retailers and brands to get it together and grow visibility by working together.
Events & exhibitions
Projects by Blue Patch – since 2016
2016: Blue Patch launches the UK’s first ever Sustainable Department Store in Dulwich, London. There were 70 brands, a pop up cafe, cookery displays, talks on the sustainable high street hosted by local MP Helen Hayes, workshops on sustainable living and craft demonstrations. We had a Tesla Power Wall on display and local school children put together a display of their dream high street. The event was opened by the Mayor of Southwark and we presented the first ever Blue Patch Sustainability Awards too!
2017: We partnered with The Collaborative Store in Marylebone. This high end, design-led store hosted our members, enabling them to reach a sophisticated customer-base. This marked our first collaboration with an independent retailer.
2018: We held a week long Sustainable Department Store Christmas pop-up in Shoreditch, London. There was a gloriously crowded opening party featuring the presentation of the Blue Patch Sustainability Awards. Events included a business hub, breakfast lectures by retrofit architects and co-active business coaching. We help workshops throughout the week including how to make a Christmas wreath, shoe-making and cocktail mixing.
2019: We held a three-week Sustainable Department Store pop-up at The Whitworth in Manchester. The ‘Useful museum’ concept instigated by museum director Alistair Hudson enabled us to bring business and art into one space.
The pandemic hiatus
2020: The pandemic pressed pause on our Manchester Art Gallery pop-up. To compensate, the museum hosted our first online Blue Patch Eco-store.
Back in action
2022: The Happy Planet Store, Manchester Art Gallery; a three month pop-up, as the world emerged from the pandemic.
2023:
- Homes With a Heart with Blue Patch, curated by Roddy Clarke. September 21st-24th, London Design Fair, The Truman Brewery, London.
- A circular materials project in collaboration with the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London.
- Blue Patch’s Sustainable Arts & Crafts Showcase; May 13th-14th, 10am-5pm. Part of the Dulwich Festival. Dulwich Picture Gallery, London SE21 7AD.
- Nature Wall, May 13th-14th, 20th-21st. Works on paper by Blue Patch members. Part of the Dulwich Festival. Oru Space, 20-22 Lordship Lane, London, SE22.
2024:
- Pull My Thread – Textiles for a Cool Planet, an exhibition of sustainable textiles by Blue Patch members, Brantwood, Cumbria. 27 July – 22 Sept.
- Decorex, stand J30, Olympia, London. 6-9 October. Blue Patch is a member of Decorex’s Sustainability Taskforce.
2025:
- Positive Shopping retail partnership, Forget Me Not & Green, London
- Proposition Gallery, Bethnal Green, London (date TBC)
- Decorex, stand H40, 12-15 Olympia, London
Testimonials
“Ruskin reminds manufacturers that the things they make and how they make them determines the nature of everyone’s world. The attention to thoughtful manufacture by Blue Patch makers makes them champions of social justice and environmental responsibility. That they achieve this by creating products of inspiring beauty is all the more remarkable. We are delighted to have Blue Patch at Brantwood.”
Howard Hull, Director, Brantwood Trust
“We are delighted that offcuts from our costume workshops can be used in such a creative and unique way. Blue Patch and their community provide a great opportunity for us to give new life to our unwanted materials, supporting our ambition to reduce waste .”
Rachael O’Sullivan, Environmental Manager Operations, Royal Ballet & Opera,
Covent Garden, London
“I visited the Blue Patch Collective’s first ‘High St’ Sustainable Department Store in Shoreditch and discovered a blueprint for a new retail experience. Blue Patch is a shining example of how a collective of UK SMEs are working together to rebuild retail, filling the gaps left by conventional models. Socially engaging with free talks and creative workshops, the store highlighted the exceptional quality of products hot from the UK’s workshops, artisans and heritage manufacturers. I wish them luck on their journey to bring life back to the high streets across the country.”
Bill Grimsey is a former chief executive. Author of The Grimsey Review and ‘Sold Out’, Bill is one of the UK’s leading experts on the High Street.
We’d love to work with you
Please contact Jane Langley on jane@bluepatch.org 02077387267 / 07792726842
